December 2007 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

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education program offered
their services and sewed quilt
tops. A fabric shop offered a
discount on batting for the
quilts. A Pembroke grocery
store donated 200 dresses to
the branch.
In February 2004, branch
members loaded up their cars
to deliver the quilts to the
bishop’s storehouse in
Canandaigua, New York.
But the “bug” has only
continued to spread. In June
2007, a member couple and
their friends held a garage
sale. All proceeds were given
to the branch’s humanitarian
aid fund to purchase more
items for hygiene kits and
sewing supplies for quilts.
In June 2007 sisters made
the seven-hour drive to the
Canandaigua storehouse
with the branch’s latest
offerings. Because the donations
had outgrown the
Comments
Everyday Laughter
I want to say thank you
for Gary K. Palmer’s article,
“The Power of Laughter,”
in the September 2007
Ensign. My wife and I read
The e Power P er of o
Lauu hter t
gg
BY GARY K P LMER
ea h ng r f s or f R c e t on M na em nt nd Y u h L a e sh p B i h m ou g Un v r ty
the article and found it
very helpful in reminding
us to laugh and play in
our daily interactions with
each other and with our
son.
Scott Johnson, New York
O
ne S nd y in a r m nt me t ng my our ea o d
s n was ma i g a ma or d tu b nce A t r s ve al
mi u es o t y ng o a m him d wn I i ked im
up tu k d im un er my rm l ke a a k of p t t es and
he ded or he n a es ex t S oc ed by he udd n dep r
t re my son o ked up t me a d sa d H y D d he e
we go n ? Hi in oc nt ommen ca ght me y su p i e
and e us d m an er ns a t y He h d o i ea he w s in
t ou le He hou ht we w re oi g out o p ay
I ave e rn d th t he a i ty o l ugh a ev r day
f mi y d f c l es h l s k ep l e in e sp c i e f we w l
l a n to au h nd p ay mo e w th o r f mi es not n y
wi l we e l b t er ut so w l hey A m r y he rt oe h
go d ke a me i i e sa s P ov r s 17 22 S ud es how
ome ne o ce
a d A l t e
r z ne s o ce n a
w i e p rp t a es
an y ”
t at h mor a d a gh er e p eop e i e l ng r hap i r
l v s be more r a i e and p od c i e; nd ha e more
en rg wi h l ss p y i al i com o t 1 Humo re uc s
s r ss f ar n im da on mba r s m nt and ng r 2
La gh er l o has x r or i ary ea ng pow r 3 Wh n a
pe s n a ghs b ood re s re d c ea es he rt a e a d
r sp r t on nc e se t e body e e ses nd rp ins nd
4 de re s on d c i es f er he au ht r s bs d s and ou
r l x ag in hat ood ee ng h s a l s i g e f ct e en
un i t e ne t day 5 Not m ny med c n s wi l o th t
Be om ng More h ld ke
On ve a e h l r n ugh 4 0 t me a day w i e a u ts
l ugh bo t 15 mes 6 man p a ng w th h s hi d en n a s nd i e a a sm l ne gh
bo ho d pa k e was i ht own t er on h s ha ds nd
kn es n t e s nd bu l i g an mag n ry own w th t e ts
c rs ru ks re s hou es s o es a d s hoo s I ou d see
t e f t er p sh ng a w od n b ock b l d ze th o gh t e
s nd pr t nd ng o bu d a ro d He v n m de he s und
e f c s o the u l oz r en i e r m mbe th n i g Now
t e e is n ex mp e of a r at ad who k ows ow to p ay
w th h s h ld en He as n p a n v ew to v ry p s i g
c r Was he mba r s ed o ru l d? No at l He se med
ob v ou to he p op e pa s ng y Does h s me n we
s ou d p ay n t e s ndp e wi h ou ch dr n? bs l te y
L ugh mo e pl y mo e w ng ou of am i r p a es be
mo e the w y y u we e when ou we e a ch d
au ht r a d p ay a e c o e y r at d l y pu s ve y ne
on an qu l oo i g r t by he a ure f p ay se f nd
s co d be au e you an han e t e ru e to i t e s t a
t on P ay r n s f mi es og t er I i a su t e ool or
Wh the ap Did e l se ome h ng? nt r c i n and a k t u l s co f d nce ec use ou c n
Ha e we f r ot en he w y we u ed o be? W y i i th t c il mod y the u es o b i g ab ut uc e s or ny o t ome
d en s em to ope w h f s odd i s b t er h n ad l s? y u e i e O r nh b t o s a e min m z d nd our e l p r
Pe h ps t s ec us th y do n t ul y nde s a d ut I s na t es mer e Th ough l y we de e op e a i ns i s
t i k i s s mp er h n th t hey a gh As we row o d r na u a y We t nd to ke p op e we h ve un w th P ay
we g t f r oo s r o s W t h ch d en p ay T ey d n t n ed a ows u to u e ou m n s and r ak o t of am i r mo ds
e pen ve oys o e t r a n t em E e y h ng s un hey I a l ws us o e p ore m re
a e sp n an ous On y wh n we b come du t do we s a t
to et or ng Do we n ed o cu i a e a d f e e t a t ud ? C ea i g Fun F mi y Re a on h ps
Humor s n he way w see h n s he w y we h nk It s omeo e once a d A t le r z ne s o ce n a wh le
an t i u e ot an v nt P rh ps he k y i s in ec mi g pe p tu t s s n ty W en I e urn ome f om wo k ea h
more h dl e
day co sc o s y t i k ab ut wh t I m go ng o s y t e
ea s a o I s w th ou h my k t hen w n ow a g own momen I e te th hou e ac u l y p a t ce my n ra ce
O O M W O O
Humor he ps keep i e n per pect ve
capacity of their cars, the sisters
drove a truck packed
with 50 quilts, many hygiene
kits, and boxes of children’s
clothing. The sisters
remained in the area to
serve in the storehouse’s
canning facility for half a day.
Sister Tromp explained:
“We have been very blessed
as we have been given the
chance to serve our brothers
and sisters. The joy that we
feel will keep our fingers
sewing and tying for the foreseeable
future. Like the little
train that could, our little
branch could and did. What
a blessing it is to serve our
Savior. Every day He gives to
us is a gift. What gifts can we
give Him each day in return?”
For more information
on how to assist the Church’s
humanitarian aid efforts, go
to www.lds.org/humanitarian
services. ■
Trusting His Will
I just read Wendy
Johnston’s article, “Not My
Will,” in the August 2007
Ensign. I was very touched
by her faith and courage.
I face challenges with
my own children,
and although my
EN I N E T M ER 0 7 33
challenges are different
from Wendy’s, I
was reminded that
our trials give us the
opportunity to seek
and accept the will
of the Father for our
families and ourselves.
Suzanne White, Australia
Welcoming All
I must write and thank you
for the August 2007 issue of
the Ensign. President James E.
Faust’s article, “Welcoming
Every Single One,” was so
important. A friend told me
in a discussion recently that
the Church is really geared
towards married couples and
families. I shared the August
issue with this article, and it
was a comfort to my friend.
Julie McDonald, Utah
Church Magazines
Available Electronically
We would like to express
our gratitude for the electronic
versions of Church
magazines. I found an article
today that I used to teach a
lesson, and my wife uses articles
from the Friend as a
source of inspiration as she
teaches our grandchildren.
We reside in the most remote
capital city on earth, so the
availability of the prophetic
counsel as well as articles on
gospel subjects are a wonderful
lift in our lives.
Phil and Trish Baker,
Australia
One Million Names
Several readers have
expressed interest in the
FamilySearch indexing
project. Derek Dobson,
product manager of
FamilySearch Indexing,
reported, “Since the article
was published [“FamilySearch
Indexing,” August, 34], we
have had almost 20,000 new
users register to
participate as volunteers,
and we
are now indexing
more than one
million names per
day. I anticipate
that we will soon
have over 100,000
users in the system and will be
producing even more names
per day that will be searchable
online at FamilySearch.org.
Many thanks!”
Updates
The painting on the
inside front cover of the July
2007 Ensign, Celebration on
July 4, 1847, Los Angeles,
California, is listed as a
work by Charles Brent
Hancock. The painting
appears to be a work by
pioneer Latter-day Saint
artist C. C. A. Christensen.
Definitive information is
not available, but Charles
Hancock is known to have
used works by C. C. A.
Christensen in a series of
historical presentations. The
painting was included in the
book C. C. A. Christensen:
1831–1912: Mormon
Immigrant Artist (page 89),
published in 1984.
In the article “Are you
Prepared?” (Ensign, August
2007, 30) President George
Albert Smith (1870–1951) is
credited with a quote in the
section “Latter-day Prophets
Speak on Preparedness” on
page 33. The quote was
actually from Elder George A.
Smith (1817–1875),
President Smith’s grandfather,
who served as a
counselor to President
Brigham Young. ■